The present invention relates generally to cosmetic accessories, and particularly to a display, storage and transportation device for jewelry items.
Earrings are used as personal ornaments by both men and women in cultures as diverse as modern American and Pygmy tribes. In America, pierced earrings have increasingly gained favor throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s and are now worn by both sexes, all ages from birth to centenarians, and across all socio-economic classes. For many persons, the use of earrings provides a form of personal ornamentation which may vary frequently according to the person's dress or mood. Many people have a great variety and number of earrings and select from this inventory on a daily basis. Thus, storage, display and, for travelers, transportation of an organized inventory of earrings is desirable.
Storage of earrings, is a problem because earrings have an inherent tendency to become separated from one another, i.e., matched pairs separated, or entangled with each other, or lose their attaching backs such as used for "post" style earrings. This is a constant problem, especially for people with a large inventory and high frequency of use. As American women, for example, enter the labor market in ever-increasing numbers and their increased discretionary income is used to complement their professional wardrobes, many women have developed enormous inventories of earrings which need to be available on a daily basis, appropriately stored, and, for those who travel, suitably transported without risk of loss, separation, or damage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,458 teaches a framed display surface comprising a flexible mesh screen for receiving and holding an article to be displayed and a pair or inter-dependent coaxially arranged hoops supporting the flexible mesh screen within a plane. The flexible mesh screen is then retained between the hoops by an annular band of decorative material between the hoops.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,821, issued Mar. 6, 1990 to Mary D. Corbett and entitled JEWELRY DISPLAY DEVICE shows a rectangular device for displaying or storing jewelry such as pierced earrings, medals, name tags and like items having a decorative front portion and a back portion having at least one pin-like shaft, post or hook which may cooperate with a clamp to hold such items in place on the user's clothing or body. The device provides a panel of woven material or mesh stretched within a plane and mounted to the rectangular frame. The post or hook of a jewelry item such as a pierced earring is inserted through the mesh, and the back or clamp, if provided, is attached from the back of the frame to hold the item in place on the display device. The display device may be held in an upright position on a horizontal surface by a back support leg or on a vertical surface in the fashion of a picture frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,103, issued Aug. 18, 1987 to Mary D. Corbett and entitled JEWELRY DISPLAY DEVICE also shows a generally rectangular display device including an inner planar mesh panel for receiving the pin-like shaft or hook of an earring or jewelry article. The illustrated display device includes an inner and outer frame, the inner frame supporting the mesh panel and the outer frame receiving the inner frame and providing a structure for maintaining the frame in an upright position on a horizontal surface, or may include a hook for hanging the display device against a vertical wall. In another embodiment, the display device includes on the outer frame a base which allows free standing vertical orientation of the display device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,449, issued Aug. 23, 1977 to Michael Love and entitled GIFT PACKAGE CONTAINING MESSAGE BEARING UNIT AND USEFUL ARTICLE IN ASSOCIATION THEREWITH shows a box arrangement for holding earrings in combination with a greeting card-like message bearing portion. The disclosure shows a box structure receiving the card-like message portion with earrings attached through a panel of the card and a lid over the top of the assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,224, issued Jan. 1, 1980 to Dick S. Aber and entitled APPARATUS FOR HOLDING PIERCED EARRINGS FOR DISPLAY AND/OR STORAGE shows a picture frame-like arrangement for removably retaining at least one pierced earring thereon. The retention arrangement of the disclosure includes at least two layers of sheet plastic material overlaying the base, and at least two layers of filler material interposed between the two layers of sheet plastic material and between the base and one of the layers of sheet plastic material, respectively. The layers of sheet plastic material have a plurality of holes therethrough with each hole in the inner layer of sheet plastic material being located in direct axial alignment with a corresponding hole in the outer layer of plastic material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,986, issued Sep. 8, 1981 to William M. Beck and entitled EARRING DISPLAY CASE shows an earring and pendant display case, a substantially rectangular back panel and a pair of hinged substantially rectangular display panels which may be pivoted inward to enclose the display surfaces thereof. The entire arrangement, therefore, may be folded into a generally rectangular enclosure. Within the enclosure, there are provided various bars for receiving earrings thereon by penetrating the thickness of the bars with the post or shaft of the earring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,235, issued Jan. 19, 1982 to Wanda L. Titus and entitled ORGANIZER JEWELRY BOX shows a jewelry tray for an organized containment of earrings for pierced ears. The tray surface includes recessed portions with each recessed portion including a pair of upward projecting pins or posts for receiving the clasp portion of the pin. An adjacent portion of the tray includes apertures for receiving the post portion of the decorative body of the earring. The edge of the tray includes a lip so that a plurality of such trays may be vertically stacked.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,446, issued Apr. 13, 1982 to George J. LeSage and entitled JEWELRY CASE shows a jewelry case for receiving, sorting, carrying and displaying jewelry. The case comprises a front portion and a back portion defining at least one compartment therebetween. The front portion comprises a pair of closure members hingedly mounted to the back portion to provide easy access to the compartments. The enclosures include hook-like formations for receiving necklaces and the like for storage. By storing necklaces and earrings in this case, the collection is maintained in an organized fashion and may be transported by transport of the jewelry case.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,084, issued Dec. 13, 1983 to Elizabeth M. Whelan and entitled JEWELRY HOLDING DEVICE shows a pair of rectangular frames coupled by hinges whereby the frames may be brought together to define an enclosure. The inner surfaces of each frame include a rigid sheet having apertures therein for receiving jewelry items.
All of the above jewelry display and storage devices may be characterized as being generally rigid in structure and of constant size regardless of the amount of jewelry stored therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,179, issued Aug. 14, 1984 to Beverly A. Miller and entitled JEWELRY HOLDER FOR PIERCED EARRINGS shows a small pouch-like container made of flexible material and has an interior with an access opening closable by a zipper. A flexible tab is connected to the container at the interior and is sized to fit wholly within the container, or alternatively extend substantially out of the interior through the access opening when the zipper is opened. The tab defines a pierced earring holder on which earrings may be mounted when the tab is on the exterior of the container and which firmly holds the earrings for storage when the tab is in the interior of the container and the zipper is closed.